Past and Present
by FairyLyte
Summary: The Hikari artworks are releasing their power, and Dark is gone. In order to stop unnecessary deaths, Daisuke leaves in the dead of night, saying goodbye to no one. Not even his beloved wife, Riku, or Daichi, his son. When Daisuke returns, will Riku forgive him? Or hate him forever? Set after anime's end.
1. Gone

**FairyLyte: Okay, this is the very first fanfic I've written. If you like it, please, please leave a review. I want to know what people think.**

**Disclaimer: Do not own DNAngel.**

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Chapter 1

_Gone_

* * *

"Mommy! Daddy! Hurry up! I wanna see Akira!" A five year old Daichi was running down the street, eager to see his cousin (and friend) Akira Hiwatari.

"Can't you slow down _'pant' _a bit Daichi?" panted Daisuke. "We'll get there whether we kill ourselves or not. _'pant'" _

Riku laughed. "Oh, come on Daisuke, I know for a fact you have more stamina than that. What happened to my little Phantom Thief?"

He chuckled. "Guess I've been slacking off a bit."

Riku smirked."Then I guess I'll have to ask Emiko-san to set a lot more traps, huh?"

"Y-You don't have to do that!" Daisuke was creeped. Though he knew Riku wouldn't do such a thing, his mother might have planted a listening device on her coat or something. He sighed. That would be just like his mom.

Daisuke was giving Daichi a ride on his shoulders when they reached Satoshi's house.

_"_Well, Daichi, are you gonna be glad to see Akira again?" Daisuke asked him, letting Riku get farther to see if the gate was unlocked. Daichi giggled. Not that little giggle that every kid can do. If Riku wasn't looking when he did it, she'd turn around and greet Risa... then get embarrassed and angry when she figured out who it was. (embarrassed because she looked, angry at Daisuke. He'd tickle Daichi just so that he could see the look on her face)

"Daisuke!" Riku said as she ran back. "The gate's unlocked, and open to boot. I think they just got back." Daisuke gaped at her. "Riku, what do you think you're doing?! You should've been at the gate in case Daichi-" He couldn't finish what he was saying because Daichi slid down his back and started for the gate. For such a small kid, it was amazing how much energy and strength he had. Daisuke and Riku could barely keep up, and by the time they did, Daichi had already searched half the house looking for Akira. He would have searched the rest of the house if Satoshi didn't catch him and hold him in place.

"Uh!" Daichi grunted, trying to get free. "Uncle Satoshi, lemme go."

"Hey, Daichi, you're back! I sure missed you," said Satoshi, trying to hold him down. This kid was a Niwa alright. "Hmm, I wonder. Should I call your parents, and ask if a little boy is missing? Or should I take you outside where they are undoubtedly waiting?"

"Neither!" said Daichi. He looked scared, in a funny way. The adrenaline then gave a little more strength to his next attempt, getting free. What was Emiko-san doing to that kid? He ran blindly in one direction, which happened to lead to the front door, which happened to be where his parents were standing. Before he knew it, Daichi was face to face with his father, a stern look on the latter's face. (A.N. Well, as stern as someone like Daisuke can do)

"H-h-hi Daddy," Daichi stammered. He turned around to see Satoshi, accompanied by his wife, Risa, blocking that way too. "Hi, Auntie." he slumped to the floor. He couldn't fight it. His way was blocked, his goose was cooked.

* * *

"_Once_, just once, I would like to come home from a vacation, and not have your son running around my house like the Flash in his search for Akira!" Satoshi only raised his voice slightly, thankfully. Judging by the redness of his face, it was all he could do to keep from screaming. The last time he did that, all of Azumano was alerted, and the police came to the house, thinking that there was a riot forming. Normally, Daichi was out playing with Akira, but since he was napping right now, Daichi had the honor of being in the room with everyone else.

"Gomenasai, Satoshi-kun." Daisuke apologized. "But we couldn't just let him run here on his own. Think of what could happen!"

Satoshi wasn't convinced. "You could have just left him there." he grumbled.

"But Satoshi," Risa said, "even if they kept him home, there are many ways to get out of the Niwa household for a child his size." She smiled, with a devilish glint in her eye. You could almost see the devil wings on her. "And then they would have to call _Police Commander Hiwatari _to help search for him." Satoshi's face showed a hint of regret. So far, so good. "So no matter how much you don't like it, the first day home will always be disturbed, if not by Daichi, by Akira or your work." A few minutes passed before Satoshi grew calmer .

"I'm sorry Daisuke," Satoshi said. "I shouldn't have yelled."

_"__But you weren't yelling," _Daisuke thought.

Riku was puzzled about this change in events. Risa was just as annoyed with this as her husband! She must have just been pointing things out, right? As she looked at her sister, Risa winked. Seeing Riku's confused face, she pointed to Daichi.

What she found, amazed and scared her at the same time. Daichi was shaking. Quietly shaking.

When she was no longer dumbfounded, she understood. Daichi never heard his uncle speak louder than his regular voice, so hearing Satoshi talk loudly scared him. Especially if he was the reason Satoshi was mad. She knew Daichi couldn't be in the room much longer or he wouldn't be able to move a muscle. Looking around for something to get Daichi out of the room, Riku soon found it in a little boy.

A little boy awakened from his nap, probably from a loud noise, (Hm, I wonder who did that) known as Akira.

"What's wrong? I heard yelling." All the adults in the room froze. He heard? He quickly let that matter go, however, when he saw Daichi. "Hey, Daichi, you're here! I was wondering when you would come over. Wanna go outside and play?"

Daichi quickly accepted the invitation without a second thought. They put on their shoes and ran outside, Riku and Risa following suit. Now Daisuke and Satoshi were alone to discuss private matters. Some time after Dark was sealed away, Daisuke decided to keep track of the artworks movements. This included Argintine and Towa ( or Toto) and especially the Kokuyoku.

Daisuke and Satoshi talked about how the artworks were doing, stolen or not. They even talked about the one in the mansion, even though it was inactive.

"Well," Satoshi said. "I guess everything is okay."

"Not everything." Daisuke whispered.

Satoshi heard _that_ quickly. "What do you mean, 'not everything' ?" he asked. Daisuke shrunk away, ashamed of letting that slip. "Daisuke," Satoshi grabbed his shoulders, "what did you mean?" Daisuke sighed. He turned his head, looking Satoshi straight in the eyes. Satoshi in turn, backed off.

"The Koku-" Daisuke couldn't finish because they were interrupted by a scream. Riku's voice. The two men were already standing and starting for the door when Akira ran, rather skidded, into the room, not even bothering to take off his shoes. (Risa's gonna clean that up later)

"Dad, 'pant' you, 'pant' have to-" Then he went right to panting again. Satoshi, trying to keep his composure, put his hands on Akira and asked him gently, "What is it, Akira?"

The boy took a deep breath. "It's really bad! Nobody could get near him and Mommy and Auntie got hurt trying to stop him!" Satoshi turned towards Daisuke. "Daisuke-" He wondered why he tried to tell him that. Daisuke was already checking on the girls.

"Riku, Risa-chan, are you okay?" Daisuke asked in a panic, running towards his wife, Satoshi likewise.

"We're fine, Daisuke, just a few cuts." She was right, in a way. She had a multitude of cuts on her hands. Risa was the same, just less so. "It was like something took hold of him, forcing him to walk off. There was a barrier around him, which caused this." She motioned her hands toward him.

"Akira, what's wrong?" Risa asked, slowly moving towards her son.

They could all tell that something was troubling the boy. Akira shuffled his feet. Should he tell them? Or not? With a quiver in his voice, he said, " We were playing in the yard when Daichi's head started to hurt. I was thinking of getting you guys when he stood up as if it never happened. Then he started to go away, and I tried to stop him, I really did! And then..." He stopped there. Meanwhile, Daisuke and Riku were getting antsy. Where was their son? Akira looked at Risa. "And then you came," he finished in a small voice.

* * *

Everyone was confused. Satoshi was pacing the floor, Riku was worrying about her son with Risa trying to calm her down. Akira was in the fetal position, crouched in the corner. And Daisuke? Sitting calmly on the couch with his hands folded under his chin. They were completely lost, with no idea what to do. Satoshi was trying to think things through, where Daichi would have gone, and why. He would never admit it, but he was worried sick. '_Which is why,' _he thought, '_I don't understand Daisuke's behavior. He is Daichi's father. He should be more worried than any of- Wait.' _He stopped pacing the floor and focused on the form Daisuke was in. '_Wasn't that what he called his 'Thinking Mode'? ' _

As if to answer, Daisuke stood up and started for the door.

"Daisuke!" Riku said, running after him, "what are you doing? Do you know where Daichi is?" Daisuke smiled. Riku always seemed to be able to know what he was thinking. "I think so. It'll be a start at least."

"I'm coming as well." Satoshi said, "And will help in any way I can." Daisuke nodded in agreement. "Wait!" Risa came out from behind the pillar, even though there was no reason to hide, followed by Akira. " We're coming too!"

Riku smiled. "Well, that's Risa for you," she said under her breath. "Of course. Come on!" Risa quickly acknowledged this and ran over, Akira in tow.

Daisuke nodded in approval. "Let's get going."

"Great!" Akira cheered, "So... where are we going?"

Daisuke chuckled. "Home."

* * *

It wasn't very long until they were on the Niwa household doorstep. Getting in, however, was a different matter. Emiko had locked the door, and changed the password on the keypad.

"I'm sorry," Daisuke said, "I have to take my time with this." A very scared expression crossed his face. " If I don't, we'll probably get flamethrowers from the walls, or a pit of hungry alligators. There." The door was open, but everyone still had to be careful. Hopefully, because they took Daichi with them, Emiko laid off the traps.

They were never more wrong.

Risa, Akira and Riku stayed behind while Daisuke and Satoshi went through... [Starts counting fingers] falling floors, arrows, lasers turned to max, rods from the walls, [one of which pinned Satoshi's coat.] boulders, and hungry dogs. But they unwittingly bypassed some of the traps, meaning Riku and the others could set them off. But the twins knew better

"Emiko-san," Riku called. "Please, turn off the other traps." No answer. "Please?" Silence. Riku was losing hope, and Risa's face was slowly reddening. Akira didn't like seeing his aunt and mother this way. So he decided to speak up.

"Auntie, maybe she isn't-"

"Emiko, turn them off!"

Someone snapped. Risa. Her face was red, close to tears. She was clearly in a rage. Satoshi and Riku stared at her wide-eyed. "Risa," Riku said quietly, "calm down." She slowly took Risa's hand. "Anger doesn't help anything."

Risa's eyes widened when she realized what she said. It was like Riku's touch siphoned off all the anger Risa had, leaving only sadness. Her legs gave out, and she fell to the floor. "I'm sorry," was all she said.

There was an audible _click, _followed by Emiko's serious tone of voice. "I've disabled the rest of the traps," she entered the room, her happy-go-lucky demeanor replaced with a serious one. "What's wrong?

* * *

Daisuke explained the situation calmly and quickly, even adding Akira's story as to what happened before the Harada twins got involved. (I say Harada because that is what they are referred to in the manga and anime.)

"So Daichi just ran off, and a type of barrier kept you from touching him?" Based on her reaction, Emiko was as puzzled as they were.

Satoshi stared at her blankly. "I thought that part was obvious." He commented. "Especially since you're the one bandaging their hands."

Riku ignored him. "Anyway, do you know any way's to find Daichi?" Emiko's serious expression softened a bit. "I don't know." Her eyes brightened. "But I think I can find one." She turned to the computer; which was already occupied by Daisuke.

"Uh, Daisuke, what are you doing?" As far as she was concerned, no one knew about the computer in the wall, not even Kosuke.

"I'm looking for the tracker you placed in Daichi's coat." He answered simply.

An awkward silence filled the room, Emiko trying to get out of the situation. "Ha, so you found it?"

"You don't have to be embarrassed Mom. This is helpful."

Riku, who was busy helping Risa with her bandages, brightened with joy. Finally, a lead on Daichi! She wanted to go and see, but she had to treat Risa's wounds. And she couldn't pass the job to Satoshi for two reasons: one, he could help Daisuke much better than she could, and two, the last time she did that, he messed everything up. (four years ago)

The computer beeped, indicating that Daichi's location was found. But before Satoshi could get to the computer, Daisuke turned it off.

"Daisuke! What are you..." Satoshi paused, then corrected himself. "Where is he?" Daisuke looked pained, ashamed even. Satoshi almost didn't want to know.

'_Or shouldn't know,' _he thought.

"He's in..." Daisuke began slowly, and quietly. He stared solemnly at Satoshi. "He's with the Kokuyoku."

* * *

Somehow, Daichi found the secret entrance to the Kokuyoku. The last male Hikari made it in case of emergency, but after his death, no one knew where it was anymore. Daisuke had managed to find it purely by chance. (Not easy to rest on a wall if you're going through it.) But for some reason, after that the door only worked for Daisuke.

When he got inside, he found Daichi walking towards the Kokuyoku, an iridescent light surrounding his little body. As if he was in a trance, he raised his hand towards the artwork, the light around him moving from Daichi to the painting.

"Daichi, stop!"

It was gone. During all the times it was okay to be scared, he wasn't. When his wife was hurt, he was calm. When Daichi went missing, he was still he was calm all the way through. Or at least, pretending to be. Now, all that patience he had, was gone.

He'd been sucked dry.

Daichi hesitated, but continued what he was doing. The light began to surround the painting, and Daisuke could feel the power inside beginning to fade. He ran to Daichi, taking a firm hold of his hand. Daisuke grimaced. The burning sensation reminded him of time he grew his wings. Slowly, the light faded away, with life returning to Daichi's eyes as well as the painting. Daisuke breathed a sigh of relief. The Kokuyoku, as well as Daichi, were safe.

"Daddy?"

Daisuke stared at Daichi, the latter trying desperately to keep his eyes open. But he was just a child, and could only manage a smile before he fell asleep in Daisuke's arms.

"It's okay Daichi," Daisuke said, "you're safe now."

With that, he stood up, and carried Daichi to the entrance.

* * *

Needless to say, everyone decided to stay at the Niwa house that night. The traps laid by Emiko ensured that no one could come in.

Or, more importantly, leave.

But when Satoshi was trying to fall asleep in the guest room for the night, he heard a _clink _sound near the door. It was a very small sound, not likely to be heard by anyone, much less wake them up. But Satoshi had been trained to catch the Phantom Thief. If he couldn't hear sounds like that, he'd of never come close to catching Dark. Grabbing his coat, Satoshi raced downstairs, expecting to find whoever was sneaking in.

But all he found was the traps untouched, and the door unlocked.

_'This can't be.' _Satoshi thought. _'No one can get through the traps without setting at least one off, no matter how skilled they are. The only ones that can do that are me and-' _He gasped as a sudden realization hit him. _'Daisuke!'_

He ran out the door, beginning to look in every place he thought Daisuke would be. He had been acting strange, as if deep in thought all the time. They had to yell his name just to get his attention, and they didn't even get all of it. But even if Daisuke did leave, he couldn't have gotten too far, right?

Wrong.

He found him at the entrance of town.

* * *

"Daisuke," Satoshi had finally caught to him. "Where are you going?"

Silence. The only thing Satoshi succeeded in doing was freezing Daisuke's step. "Answer me!"

"The events of today helped me realize what was really going on. That is why I have to go."

But Satoshi wasn't going to give up there. He bit his lip to keep from yelling.

"What's going on? What have you been hiding? From all of us?"

Daisuke's answer was delayed. Not because he couldn't find the proper words for his explanation, but because he didn't know how Satoshi would react. A few minutes passed, and Daisuke began to explain.

"The Hikari artworks have been acting up lately. Somehow, their power has leaking from their respective containers. As a result, the artworks have been dying, and their power is causing disturbances, affecting the world as we know it. For example, Argintine's power could cause a lightning storm, or the loss of power in an entire city. In the worst case scenario, countless would die. And even if it wasn't, lives would still be lost. I'd never be able to live with myself if something like that happened. Not when I could have done something about it. That's why I'm leaving. To go seal the Hikari artworks, and keep their power in check." Daisuke turned around. "Do you understand, Satoshi?"

Satoshi had bent his head, unable to look at Daisuke. He didn't wan't to see that heartless look that was undoubtedly there. He clenched his fist, and bit his lip so hard it bled.

"And what about your family? What about Riku and Daichi? Do you not care?"

He could hear Daisuke's footsteps as he walked towards him. He could feel Daisuke's hand as it fell on his shoulder, as if trying to make something clear.

"That is the one thing... I will always regret, Satoshi."

Satoshi snapped his head up, surprised. Daisuke's face wasn't heartless at all. No, quite the opposite. Daisuke's face was full of sadness and regret. It wasn't visible for long, though. Satoshi's vision began to blur. _'Am I crying?' _He began to fall to the ground. He saw one of the Hikari artworks in Daisuke's hand. He recognized that artwork. It induced sleep on anyone.

Daisuke caught Satoshi before he collided with the ground, gently placing his head on the ground.

"_I already sealed the_ _artworks in the basement."_ Satoshi could hardly hear Daisuke now. _"Oh, and Satoshi? Tell Riku... I may never come back. I don't want her waiting for me."_

Satoshi couldn't hear anything else. He was asleep.

_(The next day)_

"Satoshi? Satoshi, wake up! Satoshi!"

_'Huh?' _Satoshi opened his eyes. Riku was over him, clearly confused as to what was going on. It was early in the morning, Satoshi could make out that much. Riku must have woken up late at night or early in the morning to find both Daisuke and Satoshi gone.

"Satoshi, what happened?" Riku was scared and confused. "Where is Daisuke?"

Satoshi stood up, letting go of Riku's hand. He stared at the town entrance, trying to reject that one, terrible, truth.

"Daisuke left, Riku. And he's never coming back."

The words came out slowly and silently, as if Satoshi didn't want to believe it himself. Slowly, the rainclouds released their water, hiding the tears of the two below.

Daisuke was gone. And they wouldn't see him again. Not for a long, long time.


	2. Anger, Sadness, and Questions

**FairyLyte: All, righty! Here's Chapter 2, people. I hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own DNAngel. I own Akira, no one else.**

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Chapter 2

_Anger, Sadness and Questions_

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_Eight years later_

* * *

It wouldn't stop. The strange, foreign sound was relentless. It never obeyed it's owners wishes, even if he threw it to the ground to quiet the noise. Always beeping, never fleeting. The perfect way to describe it.

The atrocity known as the alarm clock.

It went on for twenty minutes before Daichi sat up in bed, his smooth red hair in complete disarray, turning off the alarm as he did so. He took it off the stand, contemplating whether or not to throw it to the floor. He was still thinking, however, when another thought came to his mind.

_'Wasn't there a reason I can't hit the snooze_?'

If only he remembered the trap door in the bed.

Because of this, it wasn't long before Daichi was clinging for life on the supposedly _safe _area known as his bed.

Twenty stories high.

In the morning, with hardly any strength.

And to make matters worse, Wiz had abandoned him.

And the only thing he could do was scream.

"GRANDMA!"

* * *

There were many disappointed and angry faces at the table. Daichi and Riku were angry about the trap, and Emiko was disappointed that it didn't work. It didn't matter to her if Daichi couldn't become Dark. She just couldn't help herself. He was a Niwa, and she intended to train him like one. Even Riku set some traps sometimes, though they weren't nearly as dangerous as Emiko's. This, however, was a rare occurrence. She only did it when Emiko was really trying to kill Daichi. She was in charge of raising Daichi, Emiko was in charge of training him. It was just their way of life.

Speaking of 'way of life'...

"Kyuuuu..."

Wiz was lying on Daichi's head, begging for his strawberries. As punishment for not helping him, Daichi had confiscated them. The cycle had been broken. No more strawberries for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. No more special treats in the night. For a whole day! It was pure torture for the little rabbit.

"No, Wiz! There is no way I'm going to give you anything!" Daichi was mad. The rabbit, having given up, crawled off Daichi's head and went back to the room. But not before trying one more time. When he got to the stairs, he looked over his shoulder, begging Daichi with puppy dog eyes. When that didn't work, he went upstairs with a saddened "Kyuuuu."

That may not have worked on Daichi, but it certainly worked on another woman. Riku, to be precise.

"Daichi, I'm sure Wiz didn't mean to do what he did. He was just trying to help you. Can't you forgive him?" she asked.

Daichi snapped. "Forgive him!?" he yelled, "After what he did to my arm? He didn't come to help me, he came to scratch me to oblivion!" He showed the wound in question. It was bandaged from his elbow to his wrist. No wonder he was mad.

Emiko sighed. "Daichi, I've lived around Wiz for my entire life. And in all that time, I've never seen him do what you said he's done. I'm not saying he didn't do it. The wound is proof enough. What I _am_ saying, however, is that Wiz is a gentle creature. The only way he'd ever do that is if it was an accident."

It was working, albeit slowly. Daichi turned to Kosuke.

"What about you Grandpa? What do you think about this?"

Kosuke was silent, thinking his answer over carefully. He wasn't young anymore, the gray in his hair quite evident. He had gathered much knowledge during those years, especially about Hikari artworks and the like. Wiz, however, he knew almost nothing about. He sighed. "I'm afraid I don't know much about Wiz, Daichi. I haven't lived here as long as Emiko has. There are only two people in this world that could tell you what you want to know."

"And who are they?" Daichi asked. He had forgotten about Wiz at this point, and was even letting him sit on shoulder.

"Well, the first one would be Dark. Wiz was created to assist Dark in his heist's. He is Dark's Familiar. Wiz would transform himself into anything he wanted, including Dark's wing's. If Dark were to grow his own wings, he would severely damage his Tamer's body." Kosuke stopped, feeling that he told Daichi what he wanted to know.

But Daichi didn't feel satisfied. "Who's the second person?" he asked.

Kosuke hesitated in answering. "The Tamer himself." he paused. "Or, in this case, your father, Daichi."

"Dad?" Daichi was shocked. No matter how hard he tried, he could never remember his father's face. He could remember his spiky red hair, the tone of his voice, the gentleness of his touch... everything but his face, which was always covered by a thin shadow. Growing thicker by the day. No one ever talked about his father for the longest of times. Now, when he had a chance, he was eager to learn anything he could. However, despite his eagerness to learn, he had only one question. With a sad look on his face, he said,

"When do think he'll be coming ba-"

"Stop it." Everyone turned to the voice in question. Riku. Her chopsticks were clenched in her fists. She sighed. "I know you love your father Daichi. But he..." She stopped.

_He's not coming back, _is what she wished to say, but something kept her from doing it. With a huff, she stood up and walked out of the room.

Silence.

In an attempt to break the silence and get something going, Emiko cleared her throat. "Um, Daichi, you better get going. You'll be late for school."

That sent him shooting like a rocket. Without bothering to look at the clock, Daichi raced out of the room, grabbing his bag, textbooks, and a quick sandwich from the table. On his way out the door, he grabbed his trusty skateboard and raced to beat the clock to school.

* * *

"Grandma... how could you?"

Daichi was standing in a abandoned school-yard. He'd beaten the clock all right. He was the first to arrive.

* * *

**Fairylight: ... It was short, wasn't it? But, I hope you got a laugh, and a bit of insight on the Niwa family. Please review.**


	3. Letters Home

**FairyLyte: Here's the next chapter, everybody! Hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 3

_Letters Home_

* * *

Daichi was the point of avoidance that day. His obvious anger was coming off in waves. Why, oh why did he listen to his grandma? Why, oh why didn't he look at the stupid clock before he left the house? He decided to stop thinking about it. Just doing that made him feel like a tremendous fool. And he did not like being fooled.

To make matters worse, the resident reporter at the school, Takai Saehara, considered Daichi coming to school early big news. Sure, coming early wasn't a big deal on it's own; but before anybody else? Now **that** was a story. One that quickly made it's way all around the school. Boy, was Daichi not gonna hear the end of this. He could practically feel the eyes of everyone burning into his back.

"So, looks like you're the talk of the school."

Daichi snapped his head up, ready to snap at the speaker. He got this from every girl in school, every boy, and every bully besides. He did not need to hear it from-

Akira Hiwatari.

Akira grinned. Honestly, that kid was more like his mother than his father, save the resemblance. "I'm guessing by your reaction that you've had a hard day, huh? I also have a sneaking suspicion that Takai is behind this, like everything else around here."

Daichi nodded. "He's a good friend, but is it wrong to wanna just scream at him sometimes?"

"I would say something a little more graphic, but that works too." Akira sat in the desk next next to Daichi's, hanging his pack on the back of his chair. "By the way, what happened to your arm? Did a cat get in your house or- more likely- did you fall victim to one Emiko-san's traps again?"

"Close," Daichi said, lifting his bandaged arm, "it was Wiz. He scratched my arm to kill. I think something startled him. What about you? How was your morning?"

Akira, in response, lifted his hand. His finger was bandaged from the tip of his finger to his knuckle. "Argentine bit me."

Let me explain. After the Kokuyoku was sealed away, Satoshi started to live with the Niwa's. After he married Risa and moved into the old mansion, the two families, with the consent of the artworks, decided to have them share their abilities with both houses. Since Emiko couldn't bear to lose Argentine, he and Towa traded off their posts each day. For example, on Monday, Towa worked, and on Tuesday Argentine worked. That day just happened to be Thursday. Argentine's turn.

Daichi wasn't convinced. "Do gecko's even _have_ teeth?"

"This one does!" Akira protested. He was getting up in his seat when he, as well as Daichi, got hit square in the forehead with a pieces of chalk. From the teacher.

"Akira, Daichi, perhaps you didn't hear me." She made her way to their desks, Her tone becoming low and threatening, "I told you class was starting."

* * *

School was very uneventful that day. Gym was never that hard for Daichi or Akira. Math was always a murderer. Science was boring. English was weird.

And last but not least, they had the strictest teacher in the school.

So after this fairly uneventful day, Daichi and Akira decided to walk back home together, because they followed the same road home. Akira had agreed to help Daichi with his homework, seeing as how their teacher decided to pile it on the both of they thought about it, she did stuff like thatevery day. Eventually, Satoshi and Risa had to get used to the idea of Akira spending an extra two hours at Daichi's house.

It was sunset when the two reached the house, the house itself seemed to emit a dark, sad feeling. Daichi stopped in front of the door, and bent down in order to pick the lock on it. He got out his small kit, took out one of the tools, and set to work.

He was hardly a minute in when he paused, a look of surprise becoming evident on his face.

"Daichi?" Akira asked. "What is it?"

To answer, Daichi lifted his hand to the doorknob. He turned it, and slowly opened the door. "It's already unlocked," he reported.

Something was wrong. Very wrong. As the two boys made their way through the dark hall, Daichi noticed that the traps were gone. Emiko must have turned them all off. Slowly, the boys made their way into the living room, where they found Satoshi leaning on a wall, Kousuke and Emiko sitting on one side of the couch, and Risa sitting next to Riku, who was holding a piece of paper in her hands.

Crying.

Daichi ran over to his mother. "Mom, what's wrong?" he asked.

"Dad?" Akira asked. "What are you doing here?"

Risa decided to answer both of their questions. "A letter, Daichi. For you and Riku. We came... because it's from someone important."

Daichi stared at the letter in his mother's hands. It was closed, with slight stains on it from Riku's crying. "What does it say?" he asked. Riku just tightened her grip on the letter.

"Let him read it," Satoshi said. "He deserves to know as much as you do."

"Please, Riku," Risa begged, "You didn't like being ignorant. Don't keep the truth from him. He can take it now."

Riku looked up to Kousuke and Emiko, silently asking their opinion. They, in return, nodded. Giving up, she handed the letter to Daichi, who simply stood there silently as he took the letter in his hands. He slowly opened it, revealing the small print on the paper. He let out a small gasp. "It's from Dad," he said.

Satoshi nodded. "Read further. Say nothing else until then."

Daichi looked back at the paper, continuing to read what his father had written.

_Daichi, Riku,_

_I hope this letter finds you both well. Many things can happen over the course of eight years, age and growth a part of that. You have both changed over the years, things in the past assisting in that change. You both have your own doubts and worries, which is why I have something different to say to the both of you._

_Daichi,_

_Eight years have passed since I looked at your face. Eight years since I last held you and tickled you to make you laugh. These years have most likely changed you._

_I can't say I know much about you. To me, you are still that happy little boy, the one who laughed so much like his aunt, the one who would search anywhere to find his sleeping friend. The one thing I hope for as I write this is that you haven't changed._

_Riku,_

_We haven't spoken in a long time. For a long time you haven't known where I've gone. Despite this, you still believe in me. You still believe that I will come home. I know you. You're probably sitting in the house, day after day, hoping against hope that I will come home. I have no doubt that Daichi does the same. Thus the reason I sent this letter comes to light._

_I am not coming back._

_You have heard it from Satoshi, and now you hear it from me. Stop waiting. _

_Daisuke._

Daichi stood still as the tears silently streamed down his face. His father was right. Daichi was always looking forward to the day he came back home. He was always told to forget about it, to stop waiting. But he still hoped. And that hope was just thrown in his face, and in his mother's.

He felt rejected.

Riku felt the same way. Daisuke knew her better than anyone else. He used that knowledge to dash her hopes, the hope that he would come back. Both she and Daichi were crushed.

She was completely lost.

Risa got up from the couch, and slowly walked over to Daichi. She took the letter from his hands, and placed it in Satoshi's.

"We'll take care of the letter, okay? You two just stay together." She and Satoshi started to head for the door, the latter motioning Akira to follow him. Akira nodded, and, turning to the rest of the room, said, "I'll be back later," to which he then turned and left, leaving a saddened room in his wake.

In the middle of the night, after everyone had gone to bed, Satoshi left his room, careful not to wake his wife, Risa. He went into the the basement with a lit candle, a piece of paper in his other hand. He walked through a short, wide hallway, small torches lighting his path. When the end of the hallway was reached, it widened into a small room, with multiple Hikari artworks scattered around it. Against the wall was a desk, where he carefully set down his candle. He pulled out the chair in front of it, and sat down. He brought up the piece of paper in his hands, slowly opening it to reveal the words inside. Daisuke's letter. When Risa had handed it to him, Satoshi felt a magical presence inside. He planned to find out what else Daisuke had written. He fully opened the letter, intending to find a meaning in the text.

Except what used to be there was there no longer.

Before Satoshi's eyes, the original letter's words were disappearing. One by one, each word was replaced by another, until they were all swapped for glowing blue lettering.

_Satoshi,_

_Sealing artworks has certainly taught me a lot. With the aid of Hikari magic, I was able to cast a spell on this letter. This allowed me to write something that only you, as a Hikari, could read. Nice, isn't it?_

_I regret saying what I did to Daichi and Riku. Maybe I shouldn't have done that. However, in my current situation, letting them hope any longer would be cruel. _

_Things have become worse than ever. The seals I place are lasting for a shorter time. Because of this, I am constantly traveling from one place to another, constantly re-sealing the artworks. As a result, I am growing weaker by the day. It was a challenge just getting this part of the letter to you._

_However, the artworks aren't the only problem. I have been getting dreams. Strange dreams. They're hard to describe, but I know one thing for sure. It's the same dream every time. The last one was particularly strange. Satoshi, I saw the-_

The letter ended there. Satoshi sat back in his chair, curious as to what Daisuke saw.

_'He must have run out of magical energy,' _He thought. _"What could he have seen that was so important? He wouldn't try to tell me otherwise. Daisuke wouldn't waste precious energy telling me useless things. Daisuke...'_

And so the night ended. And while Daisuke's letter answered a few questions, it had raised a hundred more.

* * *

**FairyLyte: I would like to thank the people who have been reviewing so far. Your reviews are greatly appreciated. I hope you keep reviewing! In fact, review!**


	4. Deppresion and Realizations

**Disclaimer: I don't own DNAngel.**

* * *

Chapter 4

Depression and Realization.

* * *

Daichi didn't feel like going to school that day. He sat in his room, with his knees up against his chest. He felt that he never got the chance to know his father. To play with him. To learn things from him. To love him.

Now he was never coming back.

Every hope Daichi held so close was just ripped from his hands.

* * *

Riku sat in her bedroom, in a no better state than her son. Daisuke was right. All those years she had been waiting for him. Every day she would look at the door, expecting it to open up, and having Daisuke step through. That smile still on his face.

She should have known better than to trust him.

Now she regretted it.

* * *

The only ones holding the household together were Emiko and Kousuke. That in itself was hard. They sat quietly in the living room, waiting for Daichi and Riku to come down. There was no reason to cook anything, seeing as how it would just sit there, uneaten. Thankfully, a little ray of light brightened up the gloomy home.

A ray known as Risa and Akira.

It's amazing what the absence of sound will do to a house. It's amazing how the presence of sound brightens it up. And there was a lot of sound in that house once Akira opened the door.

"Hi everybody!" Akira yelled. "Mom and I came to see how you were doing! You doing okay?"

Risa entered the living room with little trouble. Emiko hadn't touched the traps since yesterday, so the house was fairly safe.

"Where are the lights?" she asked, turning them on. "It's not good for the house to be this dark, it's gloomy." She went into the kitchen, placing a bag of groceries on the counter. "Riku! Where are you?" she called.

Akira ran up the stairs, similar to how Daichi did when they were younger. "Daichi!" he called. "Where are you?"

He opened Daichi's bedroom door, scanning the room for the boy inside. It wasn't hard to find him, since he was on the bed.

"Daichi?" Akira slowly walked towards the boy in question. "Daichi, lets go downstairs. You can't stay here by yourself."

Daichi looked up at Akira.

"He's... not coming back, is he?" Daichi asked.

Akira winced. "I don't know, Daichi."

"He said so in his letter. Do you really think he'll come back?"

"I said I don't know that, Daichi."

"But you do, don't you?"

"No I don't."

"You do."

"I don't.

"You're lying."

"I'm not!" Akira walked over to Daichi, taking hold of his shoulders, gripping him strongly. "I don't know if he's gonna come back," he pulled his hands away from Daichi; "but that doesn't mean you should stop hoping. It doesn't matter how long it takes. Wait as long as you live. Who cares if he said that in his letter? If he really loves you, he wouldn't just leave like that." Akira closed his eyes, his tone softening a bit. "He is my uncle, you know. I want him back too. But that's why I'm waiting. That's why Mom and Dad are waiting. Because we have hope. Don't lose yours." With that, Akira turned and left.

* * *

Risa was in the kitchen with Emiko, cooking something for everyone to eat. Emiko was still her same old eccentric self. Lets face it, it's hard to get that down. Akira ran, rather, thundered, down the stairs. (Narrowly avoiding the spikes Emiko had in store.)

"Emiko-san! Mom! What're you making?" Akira walked over to the counter and set his elbows on it, propping his head up with his hands.

"Food." Emiko quickly answered. "Also something you would call a late breakfast." She turned to Risa. "Oh by the way, Risa, where's Satoshi? Is he at work?"

Risa shook her head. "No, he's at home. He said that he had a headache, and didn't want to leave the house. But while we're on the subject of people, Akira, did you find Daichi?"

Akira nodded. "Yeah, I found him. He's in his room. Hiding out."

Risa looked down. Then she turned to Emiko. "Emiko-san, where's Riku? I haven't seen her."

Emiko pointed up. "She's in her room, just like Daichi. And before you ask, no, they haven't left."

Risa nodded, putting down the knife and the vegetable she was cutting. "Excuse me," she said, "I wanna check on her." She then went upstairs.

The moment she disappeared from sight, Akira threw one of the cut vegetables into his mouth, promptly getting hit on the head with the flat end of Emiko's knife.

* * *

Risa slowly walked up towards Riku's bedroom door. She raised a tentative hand to knock on the door. "Riku," she asked, "are you in there?"

No answer.

Risa tried again. "Riku? Please answer me."

Still nothing.

She sighed. "Riku, you've been in here since last night. You and Daichi can't keep this up. Come out."

In the room, Riku raised her head a little. She slowly turned to the door.

In defeat, Risa looked at the ground, her hand on the door. "You know, I miss him too, Riku. We all do. You know that. But," she paused. "you can't hide from it in here. Just know... that we're out here. And we understand." Risa turned and quietly went back downstairs, leaving Riku to contemplate what she just heard.

* * *

Daichi was also contemplating Akira's words. Was what he said true? Daichi didn't know for sure. He just... wanted to know his father. Was that too much to ask? He remembered a time when he was asking Emiko what his father was like.

He never forgot what she told him.

_"__Hey grandma?" Daichi asked. Emiko turned to him._

_"__What is it Daichi?"_

_"__What is Daddy like?" Emiko's eyes widened with amazement. It had only been a year since Daisuke left, so she didn't expect this question. Especially since he was already six. So she responded with another question._

_"__Why do you ask, Daichi?" Emiko watched as the boy poked his head with his finger, trying to find a reason. After a few minutes, Daichi's face lit up, obviously having found a reason._

_"__Because I can't remember anything, and Mommy doesn't want to tell me. So I'm asking you."_

_Emiko smiled. She sat down on the couch, took Daichi's hand, and answered his question._

_"__Your father is a nice man. He puts others before himself. He's stubborn to a fault, and won't hesitate to apologize if he makes a mistake. And..." she paused for a moment. "And he loves his family with all his heart."_

_Daichi's face really lit up from the explanation. "What kind of things could he do?" he asked. So Emiko continued._

_"__Well, thanks to me, Daisuke is very strong, and he has a lot of stamina. You know, when he was a boy, he was able to jump over the gate to your uncle's house. He never told me why, though."_

_Daichi's eyes __**really **__widened at that. That gate was huge! And his dad jumped over that? He was dumbfounded._

_"__Not only that," Emiko continued, "But he's also very skilled at picking locks. I daresay I trained him right."_

_Daichi smiled, but them stopped as a thought came to his mind. "Is that what all the traps are for?" _

_Emiko nodded, a great grin on her face. _

_"__That's right! After all, no one can truly learn anything better than in a life-or-death situation." Now Emiko was starting to scare him. It was a good thing that Riku entered the room then, and stopped the 'education' Emiko was giving out. Daichi didn't mind. He learned what he wanted anyway._

* * *

Daichi then began to think on what his grandma said.

"He puts others before himself, huh?" he whispered. "And..." Daichi's head jerked up, his eyes widened with realization, "he loves his family with all his heart." The words left his mouth as a small whisper, barely comprehensible to anyone but himself. Daichi realized; if his father loved him, really loved both him and Riku, why would he write a letter like that? It didn't make sense.

Unless he was coming back.

Daichi walked over to the window, life in his eyes again.

_'Someday.' _he thought, _'someday he will come back. I just have to wait for him.'_

* * *

Daichi wore a shocked expression as he looked at the kitchen. Or, rather, what **was** the kitchen. The whole place was covered in scratches, vegetables, and traps. Akira was against the wall, a terrified expression on his face. His hair was in complete disarray, and there were multiple scratches on his cheeks, nose, and forehead. And who would be holding him there other than Emiko herself, with a knife threatening him?

"You heard me, Akira," Emiko said, in a tone that was so playful, it was terrifying. "Drop it."

Akira did so without any hesitation. Out of his clenched hand dropped something both Daichi and Risa, who had tried earlier to stop Emiko, were very surprised to see.

Out from Akira's hand, and into Emiko's, dropped a vegetable.

* * *

**FairyLyte: I hope the chapter amused you. I would also like to know how the chapter amused you. In other words, REVIEW! **


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